I haven't posted on here in a while. Anyone that has read any of my posts would know that I have tried a lot of everything, from drugs to whatever the lastest acne wash was, to fasting, to juicing, birth control - everything I could think of. I'm currently 26 and have been fighting with acne for around 12 years.

I'm not about to say that I am totally cured, but as of right now, I'm feeling pretty good. I stopped taking bactrim about two months ago and I haven't had a bad breakout since. (I've stopped it before, and within a month the acne would come back with a vengence).

I went to see a holistic doctor and had some tests done. Those tests included a check for my b12, copper, and zinc levels. I also had to do a stool test to check the levels of bacteria (good and bad) in my gut. The doctor said that the acne (along with other symptoms that I have like constant headaches and feeling tired all the time) could be because of candida (which would come up in the bacteria test).

So, the test results came back that my copper levels and zinc levels were off. They are supposed to be at a ratio of 1:1 - but my copper was 114 and my zinc was 59. Although I didn't test positive for candida, the Doctor said that I had NO beneficial bacteria in my system and the level of "bad" bacteria was a little high. He said that it's kind of like there is a constant battle going on inside and that I'm not really digesting any of the food that I eat or vitamins that I take. That made sense because I was constipated a lot. I was taking a psyllium laxative like every other day just so that I could go to the bathroom. That might explain the headaches and lethargy too. He said that the b12 level was normal, but that my body isn't able to utilize that level due to other things going on.

So, first thing was he told me to take a probiotic every morning. And told me not to take any unless they required refrigeration because the ones that don't are worthless. Also, I take pills when I eat. One is an enzyme and the other is stomach acid that is supposed to support my ability to digest my food. I've been taking these for about a month. The pills are made by Medigest and are only available from a physician - but there may be other brands.

OK - that's all about the doctor - in short - I think that probiotics are a good thing for everyone to start taking. They could only help - not going to hurt anything. Look into them..... And if you have constipation problems at all, look at that as a possible contributing factor.

Next - I stopped drinking caffeine about the same time that I started taking the pills. This was just because I had read other information on how too much is bad for you and I thought it could be a connection for my headaches (and possibly acne). I have not had a headache since...and that's HUGE since I was having one like every single day.

Next - I started using the dermalogica skin care line and I absolutely love it. I use the dermal clay cleanser and gentle cream exfoliant in the morning (followed by the toner and active moist moisturizer). At night I use the dermal clay cleanser again followed by the skin prep scrub and then put on night bright - which is really helping to fade the red spots on my face. I still will get a little spot, but it just quickly comes to a tiny head (not even any stuff in it - I just wipe it off and use the skin prep scrub and it's gone by the next day.

So, I just wanted to put this out there..... I used to come to this website every day and read every single thread to find out what people were doing, and what other products were out there that I didn't know about. I have searched for the "cause" for a long time. Long story short - acne can be caused by many things - food, hormones, genes, whatever - but maybe what is helping me may help others so this is why I wrote this.

That is what I am doing. To feed myself plenty of intestinal flora (friendly bacteria) and took Fungal Defense (Anti-Candida agent) two weeks ago. My skin has improved. I have been taking fermented foods/beverage faithfully for last few weeks. My skin has improved nicely. It has made sense because I have been taking antibiotics for five years in row. It has really eaten up my friendly bacteria and let poor diet with plenty of refined, white sugar to feed fungi, which is candida. I am currently doing Leo Kiseson's Last Acne Solution Program from www.natural-acne-treatments.com to do five steps in order. 1. Taking EFAs to normalize the hormone production, 2. Optimize Diet and Digestion. Actually, I am doing Maker's Diet instead of this program diet. Maker's Diet is written by Jordan Rubin who is founder of Garden of Life. 3. Cleanse and Regenrate Bowel (To regenrate bowel, taking probiotics, aloe vera, and glutamine) 4. Alkalnize and Kill Candida. 5. Cleanse and Regenerate Liver. I think program can apply to you well. You can check a book called Patient Heal Thyself by Jordan Rubin. It has talked alot about probiotic. I hope this will solve your skin trouble. Good Luck.

I'm basically done with meds too. I've taken tons of antibiotics and topical creams and Accutane and nothing has worked. I want to get some of those tests done that you did, because I too feel fatigued often and it isn't abnormal for me to not go to the bathroom (number 2) for two, three, maybe even four days......and that can't be normal.

So I started looking into the connection between the liver and acne. I've been asking questions about liver cleansing in another post titled "liver and acne connection", and I've been getting some pretty interesting facts about how a badly functioning liver and messed up enzymes can cause acne and other skin problems and a million other bad things. SweetJade has been very imformative. You might want to check that out.

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Lonliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away